A Kiss Good-bye
by ecv
Summary: How season 5 should have ended... now more than one shot...I still don't own Bones, but I sure wish I did.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This got stuck in my head. A little OOC for Brennan but this would have been a much better ending in my opinion..._

She looked back across the airport and made eye contact with Booth. He looked sad to her. She was sad as well. They were going to be apart for an entire year. One or both of them could die. There were never any guarantees.

It was her fault he was leaving. The evidence was clear. He hadn't mentioned reenlisting until she'd turned him down at the Hoover. Her heart might not have been open enough to take a chance, but keeping it closed sure wasn't keeping it, or him, safe either.

After her parents were gone, Brennan had sometimes considered what she might say to them if she ever got the chance. When her mother's body was identified, it changed to the things she'd wished she'd said. Would the same thing happen with Booth? Would it change from the things she'd wished she'd said to the things she never got a chance to say?

Before she gave the move conscious thought, Brennan dropped the handle to her suitcase and was running. Running from the past where she didn't take a chance and away from the future, where she wouldn't see him for a year. What she was running toward, was the only man who'd ever truly accepted her as she was.

It was so unlike her. So out of character for her to show emotions. To show fear or regret. She kept it all buried away where no one could see it. Sometimes it was buried so deep not even she could figure out what she was feeling.

But this feeling she recognized. The emptiness that came when someone walked away from her; someone she cared about. Someone she loved.

Yes, she loved him. Had always loved him. She was just afraid of what that might mean for the two of them. She'd break his heart, she was sure of it.

Right at that moment, with this possibly being the last time she saw him, she just didn't care.

Yes, she'd told him she couldn't change. But he'd never asked her to.

And she had changed. With every touch of his hand at her back, every laugh at her awkward jokes, he'd changed her.

She dodged suitcases and people. Someone brushed against her and she pushed them aside. There were muttered curses and curious glances. She ignored them. All that mattered to her at that moment was getting to Booth.

He watched her, a bemused expression on his face. He neither took a step forward, nor away, waiting to see what was going on. Waiting to understand what could possibly make her run toward him in an airport full of people, watched by her friends and colleagues.

Her eyes, her face, portrayed more emotions than he could read. Fear and anger, hope and desire flashed like lightning through the depths of her eyes.

Booth had enough presence of mind to put his arms out as she leapt into them. The impact forced him to take a step backward to regain his balance. "What's wrong, Bones?" he managed to ask, before her lips came crashing down on his.

There was nothing chaste about the kiss. It was as wild as the look in her eyes had been as she'd run toward him.

Booth hesitated only a second before wrapping his arms around her and returning the kiss. He fisted a hand in her hair, holding her mouth to his. Several passengers stopped to stare, wondering if it was a kiss of welcome, or good-bye.

"Pinch me," Angela said to Hodgins on the other side of the airport.

"No way, baby," Hodgins answered. "Cause you're seeing the same thing I'm seeing."

"It would take something like this to make her see the truth," Angela said.

"Yeah," Hodgins said, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Because the best time to tell someone you love them is right before you leave them for a year."

Cam and Daisy said nothing, too shocked to come up with anything that sounded intelligent.

It was seconds, or minutes, when Brennan pulled away from the kiss and out of his arms. Both breathed heavily. Booth had dropped his cap and bent to retrieve it. A thousand thoughts ran through his head, not one of them coherent enough for him to follow.

Grabbing both his arms hard enough to leave bruises, Brennan drew his attention back to her. Her eyes were more than wild now; they had a look in them Booth recognized but did not dare identify. To give the thought voice was to break his heart all over again.

"You have to stay safe," she said between breaths.

Looking down at the hands on his arms, Booth tried to understand what was happening. "You told me no," he said. It was the only thing that was clear to him. The only defense he had before the emotions overwhelmed him.

She nodded. "I was wrong," she said, falling back on the bluntness that had always seemed to serve her so well.

Her hands slid down his arms to grab at his hands. "I was wrong," she repeated. "You could die."

Booth squeezed her hands. "I have no intention of dying," he reassured her.

"But you could," she argued. "And I might not get the chance to say what I need to say."

She shook her head, loose hair tumbling around her face. "You have to listen to me, Booth."

"Bones," he said, pulling one hand away to brush at her face. "I am listening. I'm right here." Her eyes were still wild and it was obvious she was struggling with whatever it was she was trying to say.

So despite the fact that he'd left the base without permission, that he had to return before someone noticed he was missing, he tried not to encourage her to hurry.

"But you won't be here for long. You have to come back to me," she demanded. "You can't die on me. Not again."

"Was the kiss to force me to make that promise? Because we just agreed to meet in a year. I'll be there."

Brennan turned and looked back at Angela. It wasn't going like it was supposed to. She couldn't make the words that Booth needed to hear.

Her best friend must have read something in her face, because she mouthed the words _tell him_ to her. Without acknowledging the action, Brennan turned again.

And followed Angela's advice. "I'm in love with you, Booth. You can't die on me because I'm in love with you. You have to come back to me because I'm in love with you and everyone who ever loves me leaves. I'm trusting you not to leave me."

"Jesus, Bones," Booth whispered, hauling her against him. He wrapped his arms tight, putting his mouth next to her ear. "Now? You tell me this now?"

He'd prayed for years to hear those words from her and she'd said then at least three times in the last thirty seconds. And right before he left for a war zone.

Fate was definitely cruel.

She nodded. "You could die," she said again.

"I'm dying right now. We aren't going to see each other for a year. You told me no." He kept going back to that simple fact. She'd told him no. He'd reenlisted to try and mend his broken heart.

Now, she'd run across an airport, to tell him the exact opposite. And he was leaving her for a year.

Putting his hands on either side of her face, he tipped her head back so he could kiss her. This one was softer, full of promises and wishes and regrets. "I can't stay here, Bones," he said as he pulled back. "I left without permission."

She reached up to cup his face in hers. "And I have a plane to catch. The ticket is nontransferable."

He tipped his head forward until his forehead rested against hers. "So what are we going to do?"

"I'll wait for you. You'll wait for me. We'll meet in a year and share a coffee. Just like we promised."

"How do I leave you now?" he asked desperately.

She chuckled. "You were going to leave me ten minutes ago. It shouldn't be any different now."

He pulled back to see her face. "You are kidding, right?" It was probably one of the few times in his life he wasn't sure.

She tilted her head to side. "Yes, Booth. I'm kidding."

He forced himself to drop his hands and take another step away from her. "Daisy is waiting for you," he said. He could see the surprised expression on her friend's faces and it made the corner of his mouth lift in a smile.

This moment, that kiss, would haunt him for the next year. Of that, he had no doubt. He would dream of her, miss her, and pray for the two of them until God was sick of his voice.

And that would only be the first month.

But she didn't turn, choosing instead to study his face. "Did I make a mistake in telling you, Booth?"

"No," he cried, his voice drawing the attention of more onlookers. Several who had stopped to watch the initial kiss remained. They were the romantics; the ones who knew magic when they saw it.

"I wish the timing was a little better," he admitted ruefully. "But don't ever apologize for saying the words. Don't even think it."

Despite knowing he had to leave, he stepped forward again to cup her face in his hands. "You are everything, Bones. My heart and soul. My life and my world. Please don't regret saying what you've said to me."

The kiss was gentle and behind them an old man elbowed the woman next to him. She smiled and reached for his hand. He knew what that kiss represented. He'd kissed the woman next to him the same way, almost sixty years ago.

This time when he pulled away, he took two steps back. He rubbed a hand across his face. "I have to go, Bones."

She nodded, but kept a smile on her face. She reached out to squeeze his hand one more time before letting go. "Try not to worry if you don't hear from me for some time. It takes time to get the satellite communication set up."

He forced himself to back away another step. The urge to grab her hand and run was so strong he could barely fight it. Even when he gambled, the urge had never felt like this did.

"I love you, Bones." His voice was rough with emotion. How would he ever wait to see her again?

Her smile was brilliant, secure in the knowledge she'd made the correct choice. "I love you, too," she returned without hesitation.

This time, Brennan watched him walk away. She didn't turn until he was out of sight. The crowd eventually dispersed, except for the older man and his wife.

Holding hands, the couple came toward her. "You love him?" she asked Brennan.

Wiping her eyes, Brennan nodded. "I do. I just didn't know it until a few minutes ago."

The woman smiled knowingly. "He'll wait for you," she said. It wasn't a question, just a statement from a woman who'd already traveled the road Brennan was just starting to walk.

"He'll wait," Brennan agreed. "Because we are the center. And we always hold."


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: I once watched a movie where one of the main characters said: "There are no happy endings, because nothing ends." While I don't necessarily believe in the happy ending part, I apparently follow the nothing ends part because I seem to continue stories after I think they're finished._

 _I also don't want to write a ton of chapters covering the entire year they are apart. The reunion sounds way more fun to me, so consider this a filler while I work on that…_

How does a body measure time? With clocks that never move fast enough? With ticking that echoes in the darkness of nights that pass too slowly? With calendars that don't change often enough?

How does a heart measure time? By the heartbeat, in every second, of every minute, of every day? By the beats that take place when two people are apart? Or how long until they are together again?

12 months.

52 weeks.

365 days.

8,760 hours.

525,600 minutes.

31,536,000 seconds.

That is how time is measured for a year.

Booth measured a year on a calendar he kept in his pocket. Each day crossed off in the same red pen. He knew how many days it was until he would see Bones again. But he never shared that with another soul. Some things, he had told her once, were just theirs, and the heartache that came from missing her would belong to him alone.

The soldiers with him wondered and watched, but by silent agreement, never asked. To ask would be breaking a pact they hadn't consciously taken.

His days were measured by training and battles and longing. By dreams where she was always just out of his reach. By worries that she would change her mind before he could hold her again.

Brennan measured a year in her head. She didn't need a calendar, or a calculator to know how long it was until she saw Booth again.

Her days were measured by the finds she didn't make, the worries she carried for the man she loved, fighting half way across the world. She worked to keep her mind occupied, her hands smooth and calm even when her mind wasn't.

Her nights were measured by dreams where he was in danger and she couldn't find him. By letters she wrote in the privacy of her own tent.

Daisy watched and wondered, but each time she asked, Brennan changed the subject. While sure of her feelings, the whole thing felt fragile, like old bone. So while she didn't make any discoveries on her dig, Brennan did discover what it was like to truly yearn for another.

Together, their days were measured by emails that didn't come quite often enough. By pictures that hinted, but never revealed quite enough. By promises half whispered in phone calls that were never quite long enough.

By periods of silence that always lasted too long.

They shared dreams without knowing it. Dreams of the day they would meet again for coffee. Dreams of spending time together to get to know each other all over again. Dreams of perhaps, just perhaps, finding a way to merge two independent individuals into one shared life.

So they watched and waited, dreamed and hoped until the day when all of that could be put aside.

And they could go home.


	3. Chapter 3

Do you know that moment when you see a person again, after you haven't seen them for a while, and they look totally different? Their hair is longer or shorter, and he or she has on an outfit you've never seen before and for that split second, you don't even recognize them?

But then you blink, and your brain adjusts and suddenly, you can't remember what they used to look like. Now, what you see is the new normal, and that old person doesn't exist anymore.

For a moment, Booth thought his nightmares had come to pass and she wasn't there. Eyes scanning the crowd, he tried to take a deep breath, something that felt impossible. His heart pounded painfully until his eyes settled on a woman who couldn't possibly be her.

Except it was and now his heart pounded for an entirely different reason.

She looked different, Booth thought. Her hair was longer and lighter from her time in the sun. A colorful top accentuated the curves he'd dreamed of touching. Booth was transported to that moment over five years before, when he first saw her at that lecture. Now, as she did then, this mysterious woman in front of him took his breath away.

Until he blinked, and then she was just his Bones. The woman he'd waited an entire year for. He'd actually been waiting a lot of years for her but the last had been the worst.

The woman he'd lost for a time, when he was greedy and impatient, before she'd run across an airport and changed his entire world.

Running a hand across his face, Booth couldn't remember the last time he'd shaved. He'd been up almost twenty-four hours straight, between flights and layovers. He wasn't even sure what the date was anymore, and if the sun hadn't been up, he might not have been sure of the time, either.

Fear that she wouldn't want him raced through his veins. A year was so short and so long at the same time. People changed every minute of every hour, to say nothing about the change that could take place over the course of a year.

Booth wasn't the same person. War was definitely the business of the young, a period of his life he'd long ago left behind. Still, the one thing that hadn't changed was his deep, unwavering love for her.

Watching her, Booth knew he should approach her, let her know he was there, but he couldn't take another step. He stood frozen, forcing people to walk around him. Some looked at him curiously, but most ignored him, lost in their own lives.

It had to be a dream and he would wake up soon and realize he still had months to go before he saw her again.

In the military, it was hard to find a place to shed the aching tears those dreams caused.

As if she'd sensed him, something she would never admit to, she turned toward where he was standing. Like him, it was as if her eyes didn't see him right away. He knew he looked different. The time in the desert had hardened him, tightened his muscles in ways she would definitely notice.

But like him, she blinked, and saw the person she desperately wanted to find.

Booth wasn't the only one who'd worried. What if after he saw her again, he'd finally realize that Brennan wasn't quite who or what he wanted.

Booth choosing to walk away from her would destroy her.

So she stared at him across the space, feeling that this time, he needed to make the first move.

He could see her eyes working now as they traveled from his head to his feet. As soon as he moved, she would know he'd injured his knee not long after they parted. The other scars, the ones that didn't mark bone, she wouldn't see as easily.

They both carried things neither spoke of. Booth carried a few more now.

She stood and smiled. The light in his darkness.

This time, he was the one who ran.


	4. Chapter 4

Tables, chairs, suddenly it seemed there were a million things in the path he was trying to take to get to her. Some he pushed aside, others he dodged, his eyes registering very little other than the woman standing way too far away from him.

Her eyes narrowed as she took in his gait, and he knew she'd figured out the knee injury. It still bothered him at times, especially when he was on his feet too long. Booth was sure she'd have some exercise he should perform in order to fix it.

Secretly, he hoped it was an activity that required Bones to have her hands all over him.

There was no way she could catch him if he jumped, so he settled for picking her up and twirling her. She was warm, and solid, and definitely not a dream.

Her laugh was gentle and had lost some of the awkwardness he'd always associated with the sound. "Hey, Booth, " she greeted.

"Hey," he returned, suddenly afraid this was going to turn awkward. Would she kiss him? Should he kiss her? So many mistakes and lost chances between them. Would this be another?

So he decided to be the alpha-male Bones always accused him of being and take control.

Slowly, he lowered her until her feet touched the ground. Her relished the feel of her body pressed against his. Reaching up, he cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers.

He'd heard all the cliches, electricity, bolt of lightning, but none of them came close to describing the feeling of finally getting to kiss her again.

Love didn't have a taste, Booth knew that. If he said such a thing to Bones, she would want him to have his head examined.

But if it did, surely it would taste like she did, right at that moment.

Her hands, which had come to rest on his chest, changed to fists grabbing his shirt, pulling him closer. She'd told him once that it wasn't physically possible for two objects to occupy the same place, but she was certainly trying to defy those laws.

It seemed silly to try and stop her.

Booth's hands slid from her cheeks to behind her head, then further down to her back. He used his strength to hold her so he could tip her even farther back. If he had released his grip, she would have fallen to the ground.

So he made sure not to let go. He wasn't ever letting go again.

Brennan pulled back first. Or tried to. One of them had to maintain sanity before they were both arrested. It was her practical mind that saved them.

"Booth," she said, when she'd managed to create space between them. With a hand that she was surprised to see what shaking, she reached up and touched his face. "We're in public."

He nipped at her lips again. "I don't give a damn," he muttered, but managed to maintain enough control not to take her mouth again. Instead, he turned his head to the side and kissed her palm.

"Getting arrested would be an interesting way to let the FBI know you're back," she teased. A finger traced a pattern on his chest.

Imagining what it would be like if her tongue followed the path of her finger, Booth couldn't hold back the groan. "I thought this might be awkward," he admitted. "Now I just want to act like a caveman, drag you back to your place, and not leave for a week."

She tilted her head to the side. "Caveman is not an appropriate term, Booth, and they didn't drag anyone back to their caves. Besides, it would not be necessary for you to drag me."

His lips lifted at her commentary. God, he'd missed this woman.

"Why did you think this would be awkward?"

He snorted a laugh. "In the past year and a half I've told you I wanted to take a chance on us, listened to you shoot me down, signed up for the military to try and save my broken heart, caught you when you ran across an airport to tell me you loved me, and spent an entire year dreaming of you. This has been the longest roller coaster ride I've ever been on. Any one of those things would have made this awkward."

When she licked her lips before speaking, Booth couldn't help himself. He lowered his mouth to hers, running his tongue along the same path hers had just taken. While not quite a kiss, it still had them both breathing heavily again.

Her cheeks were flushed when she asked, "How long before you have to report for work?"

"I haven't even told them I'm back yet," he admitted.

Her eyes took on a devilish glint that was also new for her. He looked forward to discovering all the ways she'd changed over the last year. "Good," she replied. "I have some suggestions on how we can best make use of that time."


	5. Chapter 5

How often do you get a chance to know someone all over again? To finally get a chance to know someone in ways you've only dreamed about for years? Once in a lifetime? Twice?

He loved her. She loved him. They were finally together. It was like a fairy tale he remembered from his childhood. One that she'd probably never read. That was okay. They would write their own.

They held hands as they walked. Down the sidewalk, to her car, while she drove. Hands stuck together like glue, skin refusing to part.

It wasn't until they stood together in front of her door, that Booth forced himself to let go. But only because she needed it to retrieve her keys.

He took a deep breath when she closed and locked the door behind them. Her place smelled like her, a mixture of scents that always made his heart beat a little faster.

It smelled like home. Her home. Maybe, someday soon, his as well.

There was a gift on the counter with Booth's name on it. "I got you something," she said, handing it to him.

He raked his eyes down her body, making it clear that what was underneath her clothes was more than enough. She smiled at the look, but held the box out to him.

His bag hit the ground with a thud as he took the box from her hand. "You didn't need to bring me back anything," he said as ripped paper fell to his feet. "I didn't get you anything."

"I already got what I wanted," she said calmly.

Booth opened the box to find a bracelet made with beads and colored stones. He looked to Bones, knowing there was a history behind it.

And she didn't disappoint. "I received it from the local tribe. It is given to their warriors, after they return from a successful hunt. The beads are made of animal bone."

She shrugged, losing her nerve under Booth's intense stare. It took effort, but he tore his eyes from her to finger the bracelet. "You see me as some sort of warrior?" he asked.

Surprised by the question, she nodded. "Of course I do. You've saved me, you've saved my friends, you've saved people you've never met. Maybe it's not the definition of warrior you'd find in the dictionary, but it should be."

Hearing her description almost moved him to tears. He'd done so many things he wasn't proud of, but falling in love with this woman definitely wasn't one of them.

"I love you," he said, pulling the bracelet over his fingers until it settled against his wrist. The weight was solid, right, and he wasn't sure he'd ever take it off again. Surely, it could be hidden under his suits.

"I love you, too." Stepping forward, she pressed her lips to his, unbuttoning his shirt with her nimble fingers.

With no buttons on her shirt for him to work on, he placed on of his hands on the back of her head, using the leverage to press her lips harder to his.

"Come," she said, breaking off the kiss after the last button was free. His shirt hung open and she took the opportunity to run her nails down his bare skin. "You need a shower, and so do I."

He allowed her to tug him toward the bedroom and attached bath, his mind already imagining water streaming down her naked skin. He knew coherent thoughts were soon to be a thing of the past as the blood rushed to other areas of his body.

"And after that?" he asked.

She turned just enough to give him a suggestive smile. "Who said we're waiting 'til after?"


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I tried really hard to keep this at a T rating. If someone out there feels I didn't, please let me know so I can change the rating._

"Did you know there is approximately 22 square feet of skin on the human body?" Brennan asked as she worked her teeth and lips across the back of Booth's body. She was especially fascinated with this one spot on the back of his neck because he hissed every time she touched it.

The feel of her lips on his skin was enough to make his knees weak. At one point, he'd placed both palms against the wall to keep from collapsing.

"That's a lot of skin," Booth said. Whirling, he turned and pushed her under the spray, taking his own turn to taste and touch.

She moaned his name, grabbing a fistful of hair in her hand. Brennan found in hard to decide if she should push him away and continue her own exploration, or pull him closer and simply enjoy.

They'd already enjoyed each other once. Her legs wrapped around his waist, moaning his name when the sensations became too much. She'd spent the last year imagining what kind of lover he would be. Brennan was pleased to realize he'd exceeded all of her fantasies.

He turned his head to see the scar on her forearm. He moved slightly and kissed it gently. That damn doctor. It was a good thing he'd killed him already, otherwise he'd have to go hunt him down for marking her beautiful body.

Knowing where his thoughts had turned, Brennan put a hand to his cheek and used gentle pressure to pull his face to hers. "It was worth it," she said between kisses. "You held me and called me baby."

Booth snorted. "I didn't think you heard it."

She smiled as well. "I've never missed single thing you've said to me. Especially the stuff that told me how much I meant to you. It scared me, but I liked it, too."

He laid a gentle kiss on her wrinkled brow. "Nope, it doesn't make sense. That's okay."

"The water's going to get cold," she said. Enough teasing in the shower. She wanted him in a bed. Her bed. Right now.

His chuckle was low and made her body tighten in all the right places. Reaching past her, making sure to brush parts that would elicit a response, he turned the water off.

She reached for a towel, but he stopped the motion. "Let me," he said, and she nodded. Grabbing the needed item, he dried and rubbed and tormented, until she was sure heat radiating from her skin would cause the rest of the moisture to simply evaporate.

Withstanding it for as long as she could, Brennan found a second towel to return the favor. By the time they were both dry, Brennan was no longer sure if the steam in the room was from the shower, or from them.

"Bed. Now," Booth demanded between gritted teeth, echoing Brennan's earlier thoughts. They tugged and tumbled their way to the bedroom, finally falling into a tangle of arms and legs and naked skin.

She leaned over him, hands on his shoulders, taking and giving what they both needed. And when the dance neared its completion, they looked into each other's eyes and spoke the same thought.

"I love you."


End file.
